Latest news with #2025BekoClubChampion
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Larry O'Gorman fears Joe McDonagh future may await Wexford
Wexford great Larry O'Gorman reckons things could get worse for his county before they get better, acknowledging that relegation to the Joe McDonagh Cup remains a possibility. The Model County only missed out on qualification for the All-Ireland series this year on scoring difference to Dublin and were just two points off a Leinster final spot. Former Hurler of the Year O'Gorman noted too that it was a 'blunder by the referee' in their narrow provincial group defeat to Dublin - a goal was awarded to the Dubs in error - that 'cost us the game'. But the 1996 All-Ireland winner said the bigger picture is that the county isn't producing enough high quality young players and is suffering from a relatively poor standard in the local club championship. Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, O'Gorman painted a gloomy picture for his county. "I said it last year that we could end up in the Joe McDonagh," said O'Gorman, who hasn't changed his opinion and is concerned by the progress being made by Offaly and McDonagh Cup winners Kildare. "Kildare are going to be a threat to Wexford as well. They're great hurlers. At the level we're at, I wouldn't be surprised if Kildare could even beat us." It'll be 30 years in 2026 since Wexford's last All-Ireland win though an anniversary MacCarthy Cup success seems unlikely, even if talisman Lee Chin has signed up again. Asked if things could get worse for Wexford, O'Gorman nodded. "I think we're heading that road," said the Faythe Harriers man. "We have the likes of Dee O'Keeffe, Liam Og McGovern, Matthew O'Hanlon who have retired. We have Lee Chin, probably one of our best hurlers for decades, we have Liam Ryan, Mark Fanning. These lads are getting on as well, they are 32, 33 years of age. "The younger generation are coming in but there's a big gap between them. They haven't really gelled together yet. They're not really hurling well as a unit." O'Gorman's suggestion is that Wexford go back to basics and put an increased emphasis on producing underage talent. "I was involved in 2014, 2015, 2016, maybe 2017 as well with Wexford underage," said O'Gorman. "I looked at a programme the other day, from 2015, out of 64 players, there was only two of them playing (senior in 2025) for Wexford. We've only Richie Lawlor and Conor Foley. There's another lad, in the extended panel, Tomas 'Tucker' Kinsella, that's all that have come through. "In Kilkenny, you have to serve your time as a senior hurler. In Wexford, we had three or four or five lads that came off the U-20 team with Keith Rossitter and they were put in straight away. But they were green going in, didn't of them didn't even play as senior hurlers for their club. It was their first year probably ever playing senior hurling for their club as well. So it's a big step up. "It takes a lot of effort, a lot of commitment and you can't expect the likes of Lee Chin and a few other lads to pull them along because they'll get tired pulling them along. You need good, top quality young lads coming through and, at the moment, we have good players. But to be at the level of Cork, Limerick and Tipperary, we'll have to be at a higher level, higher quality." O'Gorman said he'd love Wexford to appoint a figure like Anthony Daly to head up a major, long-term investment in underage hurling. "It could be a five-year plan, or a 10-year plan, and I think that's the only way it can work for Wexford," he said. Wexford did enjoy a golden period under Davy Fitzgerald, winning the 2019 Leinster title. O'Gorman said he's still haunted by their failure to beat Tipperary in that season's All-Ireland semi-final. As for the overall championship structure, he believes it should be tweaked to allow the fourth placed teams in Leinster and Munster - Wexford and Clare this year - to advance to the All-Ireland series, instead of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists. "No disrespect to Laois or Kildare - they had their All-Ireland (final) the previous week and then they get an opportunity to come out to play in the All-Ireland qualifiers. It's no disrespect to them but I do think the likes of Clare, Waterford, whoever, Wexford, I think they should get another bite at the cherry." *For more information on the Beko Club Champion see
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Kildare could even beat us' Wexford legend's Joe McDonagh Cup fear
Larry O'Gorman says he fears the drop to the Joe McDonagh Cup for Wexford, with even Kildare posing a threat to them next year. Wexford have flirted with demotion to the second tier in the recent past, with only a heroic victory over Kilkenny two years ago preserving their status in the Leinster Championship following a shock defeat to Westmeath. They have stabilised under Keith Rossiter in the last two seasons but failed to make the knockout stages this year after a spate of retirements, with Galway and Dublin moving ahead of them in the Leinster pecking order and Offaly now snapping at their heels. O'Gorman was one of the stars of the Wexford side that won the All-Ireland in 1996, their first in 28 years, though that isolated success will be three decades old next year and it's difficult to see where the next title will come from just now. Their best chance since 1996 arguably came in 2019, when they lost a commanding lead in the All-Ireland semi-final to 14-man Tipperary, who went on to win the title. '2019 is still haunting me, to be quite honest,' says O'Gorman. 'You know, losing that game to Tipperary in the semi-final, I think it took a lot out of the players. I think that was their best year of hurling for Wexford since '96 and when Davy [Fitzgerald] moved on, ok, we brought [Darragh] Egan in and we have Keith Rossiter there now, but I don't think we're at the level that we were when we were back in 2019. 'Going forward again, I think it's going to be a big ask for us to keep building the strength and depth that we have, that we are hoping to have, but I don't see too much coming forward, to be quite honest, and it sort of hurts you to say that, but that's the way we are in Wexford. You know, we get a good group of lads for a number of years and we fall off for a while, then we have to rebuild.' Last winter, Wexford lost Matthew O'Hanlon, Liam Og McGovern and Diarmuid O'Keeffe to retirement and while there is no indication that Lee Chin will join them during this close season, at 32, his inter-county career is in its twilight, yet his importance to the side has never been greater. 'One man will lead it for long enough, and after that, when he falls away, who in line is next to step up to the plate?' O'Gorman wonders. Wexford and Faythe Harriers legend Larry O'Gorman at Croke Park for the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, an initiative to reward and celebrate local Leinster GAA club heroes who go above and beyond to help their local community and club. For more information visit (Image: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile) Looking at the sides that Wexford are scrapping with in Leinster, O'Gorman cites the momentum that Offaly have from their recent underage successes, while he expects Dublin to kick on again next year. Then you have Kildare joining the Leinster Championship next year after winning the Joe McDonagh Cup, a county that beat Wexford at under-20 level in 2021. 'From a Kildare point of view, their progress has risen so quick up the ladder that they can only get better. Now, have they got the skill levels? Have they got the drive to stay up at that level? Or is this just a pop up and a pop back down? 'The club in Naas are producing top-class hurlers. But yeah, Kildare are going to be a threat to Wexford as well. They're great hurlers, but the level we're at, I wouldn't be surprised if Kildare could even beat us.' O'Gorman feels that Wexford need an outside figurehead to drive underage development within the county. 'It starts from structures of under-14, under-16 to rebuild a new foundation in Wexford hurling. It could take five years, it could take 10 years. We're going to be here anyway, but as long as we're not down in the Joe McDonagh or the Lory Meagher - that could be our biggest problem. 'We need the likes of an Anthony Daly or a Donal O'Grady or someone like that to come in and take over an underage structure in Wexford and do it for a five-year plan or a 10-year plan and I think that's the only way it can work for Wexford. 'We have loads of academy teams, we have loads of lads in helping. We have guys from clubs that are coming in, giving their time with development squads. But we're not getting too many answers out of it. 'I was involved with underage with Wexford. I looked at a programme the other day, 2015, out of 64 players, there was only two of them playing for Wexford (senior now). That was the Tony Forristal. Two teams, A and B team, and we have only two players out of 64 players playing for Wexford today.'
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Munster domination of hurling set to continue says All-Ireland winner
Munster's domination of hurling may continue for some time yet, Larry O'Gorman has warned. The province has provided the last eight All-Ireland champions and while much of that was driven by a Limerick team for the ages, Clare and Tipperary have now won the last two titles with both this year's final and last year's all-Munster affairs. Kilkenny were the last Leinster county to win an All-Ireland in 2015 and their failure to bridge that gap this year means that they have now entered their longest ever stretch without a title. Galway, who have competed in Leinster since 2009, won their only All-Ireland in the last 37 years in 2017. No other Leinster county has even reached a final since Offaly back in 2000. 'It's a little bit worrying,' says former Wexford star O'Gorman. 'In our time, we didn't really worry about too many in Munster. Because we thought Kilkenny, they were the best team in it, if we could beat Kilkenny, you could beat anyone. That's what we were thinking back in our day. 'Now, if you beat Kilkenny, you say, 'Hold on, this is only going to get harder'. Because when you look at Munster hurling for the last number of years, it's been so strong, so tough, even Kilkenny are finding it difficult to beat them. Wexford and Faythe Harriers legend Larry O'Gorman at Croke Park for the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, an initiative to reward and celebrate local Leinster GAA club heroes who go above and beyond to help their local community and club. For more information visit (Image: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile) 'Kilkenny don't find anyone in Leinster difficult to beat but now when they go to Munster, they're the only team in Leinster that can upset a Munster team. But of late, Kilkenny find that hard to do now because of the way the likes of Limerick and the Corks and the Tipperarys have rebounded. Kilkenny were the hurling craft boys of the game. Then they came up again, physicality, strength, and good hurling as well. 'Limerick did produce some top-class hurlers. It's hard to break them big teams down. And at the moment, Munster hurling has jumped so high. We're looking up at them, unfortunately. Where before, we were looking level-eyed with them. And if it keeps going like that, Munster hurling could dominate for the next number of years.'
Irish Examiner
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Royals can kick on after bringing 'buzz back' to Meath, says Rafferty
Sean Rafferty reckons he and Meath are at the start of a journey which can take them to silverware success in the coming seasons. The Na Fianna clubman was arguably the breakthrough player of the year, powering Meath to the All-Ireland semi-final in his debut campaign. Rafferty was overlooked for Meath minor and U-20 teams and had only previously made two senior appearances in the 2023 O'Byrne Cup. But new Meath manager Robbie Brennan started him in all but one of Meath's 16 League and Championship games this year, pitting him against some of the game's very best. Meath picked off Championship wins over Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Galway before the party ended with a heavy All-Ireland semi-final loss to Donegal. Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, an initiative open to all clubs in Leinster, Rafferty said he wouldn't trade Meath's All-Ireland semi-final appearance for the Leinster title that Louth won by beating the Royals. "Would I trade our season? No, probably not," said Rafferty. "No disrespect to Louth, they're a great team. On the day, they beat us fair and square. They'd probably been building to that, that was their third Leinster final in a row. "That Louth team has been on a journey whereas I feel that's the first year of our journey with Meath. There's probably, or hopefully anyway, a lot more to come from us. "Louth are midway through their journey and getting there. They definitely taught us lessons on the day that we had to learn, just like Donegal did. "But no, I wouldn't trade seasons with them. I think the season we had brought a buzz back to Meath football and that's the main thing for us." Meath played nine Championship games in the end, winning six and drawing with Roscommon. The next step for a young crew with an ambitious management is to cap the progress with silverware, and promotion from Division 2. "I think all of the Kerry lads said that the Meath game, when they lost to us, turned the page for them, that it was a turning point," said Rafferty. "We're probably hoping now for next year that the Donegal game turned the page for us, that maybe there was a few lessons we had to learn there. "We were probably, not coasting, but we were on such a high and Donegal, like Louth, had been through their journey with Jim McGuinness for two or three years, further down the path, and they taught us a lot of lessons." Rafferty acknowledged it was a remarkable season for him personally, marking David Clifford in the Kerry game. "Then you're facing up to Shane Walsh of Galway," he said. "It was a mad year for me, going from not playing to marking Con O'Callaghan, Clifford and Shane Walsh in the one year." For more information on the Beko Club Champion, visit
